Gantz demands a plan for Gaza from Netanyahu by June 8th, threatening to leave the government

(Patria) - Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz demanded on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commit to an agreed-upon vision for the conflict in Gaza that would include determining who could govern the territory after the war with Hamas, Reuters reported.

Gantz told a press conference that he wants the war cabinet to form a six-point plan by June 8. If his expectations are not met, he said, he will withdraw his centrist party from the emergency coalition of the conservative prime minister.

Gantz, a retired senior Israeli general who opinion polls show is Netanyahu's biggest political rival, did not specify a date for a future departure, but his challenge could increase pressure on the increasingly unwieldy war cabinet.

Netanyahu appears to have been sidelined in his inner war cabinet, where only he, Gantz, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have votes. Gallant called for clarification of post-war plans on Wednesday and for Netanyahu to abandon any military reoccupation of Gaza.

If the prime minister were to do so, he would risk angering ultranationalist coalition parties who have called for Gaza to be annexed and settled. Their loss could bring down Netanyahu, who failed to engage more centrist partners before the war, given that he is on trial for corruption.

"Personal and political considerations have begun to penetrate the holy of holies of Israeli national security," Gantz said. "A small minority has seized the helm of the Israeli ship and is steering it towards rocky shallows."

Gantz said his proposed six-point plan would include establishing a temporary US-European-Arab-Palestinian system of civil administration for Gaza while Israel maintains security control.

It would also establish a fair national service for all Israelis, including ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are currently exempt from military service and have two parties in Netanyahu's coalition.